Swansea Council has made a public statement to demonstrate its frustration over the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon.

A clock marking the days since the Charles Hendry report recommending the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon go ahead has been installed on the big screen in the city centre’s Castle Square.

It has been put in place in a bid to pressure the UK Government’s Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to make a decision on whether to support the lagoon or not, according to the leader of Swansea Council Rob Stewart.

Mr Stewart says that the counter is showing that it has been more than 300 days since the recommendations for approval were made.

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“There’s no reason why the lagoon cannot go ahead. We are all ready to go but every day that we are delayed puts the lagoon at risk,” he said.

“It’s been more than 300 days since the Charles Hendy report came out and told the government that it could go ahead, but they are continuing to dilly dally with no explanation. We want them to make a decision as soon as possible.

“We have now turned on the counter in Castle Square to show how long it has been since the report was published. We’re hoping this will put some pressure on for a final decision to be made.”

The offshore visitor centre planned as part of the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon

It comes after one thousand manufacturing jobs at the company designated to construct the necessary components for the lagoon are set to be lost.

Two of GE’s British plants at Rugby and Stafford are set to lose 500 members of staff each. The plants have been chosen to build the underwater turbines and provide the electrical power for the lagoon.

The cuts have been blamed on the government’s failure to make a decision on whether to go ahead with the £1.3 billion project.

The lagoon would be the first marine energy project of its kind, using a breakwater with multiple seven metre long turbines in a bid to harness tidal power. It would produce around 320 megawatts of energy, with the capacity to power 150,000 homes.